Catch Me When I Fall
by tcheshire
Summary: Nina Martin was afraid of love, afraid of heights, afraid of the dark. It was complete chance that she met him, and all her fears seemed to vanish when he was near. Exept, of course, the one about falling in love. That one only seems to grow stronger. Rated T. AU. Fabina.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. This is written by 1000Years1 hope you enjoy:)**

Nina

The streets of London were crowded with people, as always. I dodged everyone I came in contact with, struggling through the hordes of tourists before my eyes. Finally, after three-fourths of a mile of walking, I approached Bernie's Coffee Shop*. Sighing, I walked through the smudged glass door, hearing the familiar ring of the bell behind me.

"Ah, Nina!" My boss, Fedder, called after me as I walked back towards the kitchen. "It's about time! You're fifteen minutes late!" He scolds me as I slip my white apron over my slim frame.

"Sorry. There were a ton of tourists out there today," I reply, grabbing my notebook that I take orders with and walking in the direction of the tables.

"Don't bash the tourists! They are our customers, and might I remind you that tourism is what bought you here in the first place!" He shouted. I rolled my eyes. Fedder was a nice guy, but if you show up late, you have a world of hell at your feet.

"Actually, it was my great aunt Ellie's funeral," I reminded him. I set my notebook down and crossed my legs, resting my head in my hands.

"Well, same difference," He mutters, walking away to attend to whatever. I shut my eyes and breathe slowly.

"Neens? You okay?" My fellow waitress, Amber, asked me. I look up and she smiled. I shook my head.

"I didn't get any sleep last night," I say, getting on to my feet just as the first customer walked in. "I'll get it." She nods and goes to set more tables as I walk over to where the guy was seated.

"Hello, my name's Nina and I'll be your waitress today," I tell him. He looks over to me, and the first thing I notice is his eyes. My heart rate increases a bit, and I drop my glance to the brown shiny hard wood.

"Nice to meet you," He replies. I look up and meet his eyes for a split-second, noticing that he was smiling.

"You too. So, what can I get you to drink today?" I ask, looking at my notebook.

"Just a water, please," He replies. I nod.

"I'll be right back with that." I sped off into the kitchen. As soon as I got in, I gripped the side of the counter.

What just happened?

"Nina! Get your ass out there and serve that guy NOW!" Fedder screeched. I did a double-take before grabbing a cup, filling it with ice then with water. I raced outside the kitchen, careful not to spill the water.

"Hey, sorry about the wait," I say breathlessly as I reached the guys table. He smiled.

"No problem," He says. I meet his eyes for a split-second before his phone goes off.

"Aw, crap," He mutters. "I have to go. How much will the water be?" I smile weakly.'

"Sir, it's just water. It's free," I replied.

"It's Fabian," He corrects. There was a moment of silence, before he broke it. "Hey, are you free tonight?" My stomach drops. I want to say no, oh so badly. I have to say no. What if I fall in love with this guy? He'll only shatter me like glass.

"Yes," My mouth says. I silently kick myself as my hand has a mind of its own and writes my number on a napkin and I hand it to him. No, Nina! Remember what happened last time? I shake at the memory.

"Thanks." He flashes a smile then walks out of Bernie's, leaving my stomach twisting. I couldn't tell if it was excitement or fear.

"NINA MARTIN OPEN THE FREAKING DOOR BEFORE I- Oh, hey Neens." I opened the door that Amber had been pounding on, looking at her with a confused face.

"Hi?"

"Now, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU HAVE A DATE?" She yelled, walking past me and firmly sitting on my couch. I sighed.

"Amber, you know why." I take a seat next to her. "How did you know, anyways?"

"You know my boyfriend, Mick?" She asked. I nodded. Amber had been dating this guy named Mick for the past three weeks, and from what I could tell, she was already head over heels.

"Yes."

"Fabian is his best mate. He kept talking about this 'gorgeous American waitress he met at Bernies'. I just happen to know you, so I told him and his eyes lit up. He's right for you, Nina!" She said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking them. 'Yeah, right', I think. 'Just like Andrew was'. But I shook the thougt from my head. I was not going to think of Andrew now. Even though he was my biggest fear.

"Okay, okay. He's cute, but I've only said, like, two words to the guy!"

"Well, I'm expecting you to say more to him tonight," She said simply as she headed towards the door.

"Wait, what?" I yell.

"My house, eight-thirty. Be there," She demands, before shutting the door. I sighed, before stalking off to my bedroom and digging through my closet. I was most definately not going to dress-to-impress; I was going to look like me and that's it.

My hair fell loosely to the middle of my back, curly as usual. I was in skinny jeans, a pair of grey, velvet boots, and a strapless blue top with a white cardigan draped over it. Simple black eyeliner and mascara, blush and a swipe of purple eyeshadow. Very me-ish.

As I drew near Amber's apartment, butterflies began to dance in the pit of my stomach. Why? I blame Fabian. What am I doing to myself?

Slowly, I raised my fist and knocked on the door, getting more butterflies by the second.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi. This is written by 1000Years1 hope you enjoy:)**

Chapter Two  
Nina

I don't remember most of that night. But, in case some of you are wondering, here's the explanation I got from Amber.

"Oh. My. God. You two hit it off so well! At first, you were shy, but then you started drinking and you got to know each other! Don't worry, nothing sexual happened, but Oh-Em-Gee it was so cute!" So now, I'm sitting in my apartment, trying to remember what on earth went down. And I'll admit, I was kind of waiting for a phone call from a certain brown haired Brit. It killed me inside that I wanted to spend more time with this guy. Love is a tradigity. It's a disastor. It never works. And, unfortunately, I'm one of the only girls who knows it.

So, yeah. I'm sitting upside-down, watching whatever movie was on TV. It had something to do with chickens and, of course, love. How come in every movie there's a love story? It's never the happy singleton who vows to never fall in love and doesn't. There will always be a happy singleton, who ends up realizing that all they ever really wanted is love, blah blah blah. Well, not me. I'll get to know this guy, maybe even go on a few dates. But Fabian Rutter was not going to steal my heart.

* * *

My phone rang. Normally, I don't care, but it woke me up from a blissful nap.

"Hello?" I called, clicking the green button thingy.

"Hey, Nina. It's Fabian," The voice says on the other line. My heart rate excels and butterflies grow in my stomach. Cut it out, Nina!

"Oh, hi," I replied, sitting up from my laying position and running my fingers through my hair.

"Um, I was, uh, wondering if you'd want to go out to dinner tonight?" He stuttered. Despite my internal hatred for myself about what I was about to say, I smiled.

"I'd love to," I say, brushing my hair behind my ear.

"Great. Pick you up at seven tonight?" He asked. I could hear a smile in his voice.

"Sounds good," I say.

"Alright. See you."

"You too."

"Bye." And then I hung up the phone, pressing it to my chest. What did I just do?

* * *

"Nina," Amber said breathlessly. "You look amazing!" I smiled slightly, looking down at my strapless black coctail dress. It dropped to my mid-theigh and a zipper ran up the side. I was in a pair of silver ballet flats, which brought out the silver zipper nicely. Amber had come by out of random, so she caught me just before Fabian came.

"Is it too much for a first date?" I asked. I did look a little slutty, I suppose.

"Nina, there is no such thing as too much," She says, tapping her temple and walking into my apartment. She had a tendency to do that a lot. "Anyways, I came here to see if I could borrow that red dress thing?" I thought for a moment.

"The backless one or the one with the buttons?" I replied, leading her to my room.

"Backless. Mick is coming over tonight, and I want to look sexy," She told me. We reach my bedroom and I begin the expedition to find my tiny red dress which I've never worn.

"So, Nina, why are you dressed up?" She asks while my head is submerged in clothing.

"I have a date," I reply simply. I hear her gasp.

"No. Way. Nina Martin, a date?! Ho-ly shit!" She ranted. I roll my eyes.

"Watch your language. Ah, found it!" I exclaimed, pulling out the red dress. Amber squeals and grabs it from my

arms, running into the bathroom.

"Thanks Neens!" She yells before shutting the door. I was hoping she'd hurry up; Fabian would be here any minute.

Finally, after about 5 minutes, Amber walks out. She wears the dress better than a freaking model would. I grin at her.

"Damn, girl!" I exclaim. She twirls, a huge grin on her face.

"Thanks!"

"Yep. Now, get out!" I rush her out the door and shut it behind her. Only as soon as I shut it, a knock came from the other side.

"Hello?" I say, opening it. There stands Fabian, smiling.

"Hi," He replies. "You look amazing." I look at my feet and blush.

"Thanks, you too," I reply. He holds out his hand, and I gently take it.

"Shall we go?" I nod, and we head down the hall, leaving me wondering why on earth I agreed to this.  
++++++++++

The car ride there was deathly silent. Occasionally, one of us would try to make small talk, but it all died out eventually.

When we finally reached the destination, I was a little shocked. A tiny restaurant sat on the edge of the water, which sparkled like glass beneath the setting sun. He got out and opened my door.

"Wow," I breathed. He grinned.

"Like it?"

"It's gorgeous." He lead me through the parking lot and through the front doors of the restaurant. The inside was almost as gorgeous as the outside. There was an open floor plan, meaning that there was almost no walls whatsoever. A few mahogany tables were pushed a ceiling-to-floor window, while the others scattered the restaurant.

"Wow," I repeated. This was possibly the fanciest place I've ever been in. And, to be honest, I was excited to get to know this guy.


End file.
